Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to mechanisms for enhancing the print capabilities of promotion/pay-at-the-table devices that are used in restaurant environments.
Background of the Related Art
A system of digital promotion/pay-at-the-table devices is known in the prior art. One such commercial system is the Ziosk, available from Tabletop Media, Inc., of Dallas Tex.
A Ziosk® device typically is implemented as a standalone apparatus that comprises, within a self-contained housing, a display, a reader, a printer, electronics, and a battery. The housing is configured to position the display to a patron seated at a serving area for order data entry, display of information, and invoicing. A server computer is communicatively coupled to the apparatus over a wireless link and is adapted to transmit a control program to the apparatus, and to transmit the information. A control program executing on the apparatus facilitates order entry, order management, point-of-sale system integration, and pay-at-the-table processing. During the payment workflow, an invoice is displayed, a payment (e.g., via credit or debit card) is received and processed, and the invoice is printed.
In a device of this type, it has also been known to implement the printer using a thermal line printer that is controlled by a dedicated micro-controller chip or device. The requirement for a separate micro-controller, however, is costly, and it makes implementation of device functionality impractical when it is desired to implement the application using a mobile- or embedded-device operating system, such as Android. In particular because most devices that run Android do not host USB devices or even require printing services, the Android operating system does not include support for printer software devices.
It would be desirable to implement a technique to control a printer in an Android-based device without requiring a dedicated micro-controller. The subject matter of this disclosure addresses this need.